A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW ON LOVE

"No matter how few possessions you own or how little money you have, loving wildlife and nature will make you rich beyond measure." Paul Oxton

I have loved wildlife for as long as I can remember, but living in the metropolis of Los Angeles provided few opportunities to become intimately acquainted with the creatures that live around us, among us. Moving to NW Michigan changed everything. Here, we are rich in wildlife. My home is a second home to more than twenty-two varieties of bird, including five types of woodpecker, and several bald eagles. There are dozens of deer wandering through the property at any given time, foxes, three varieties of squirrel, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, skunks, and others. This article is about ducks.

My home has been adopted by ducks - mallards to be specific - they (and there are dozens) visit year-round. Of course, they are encouraged by generous provision of corn. At first glance, they all look alike. The males, of course, are beautiful with iridescent blue-green necks; the females are a mottled brown, with blue pinfeathers. The ducklings that arrive in Spring are fluffy, adorable, peepers. After being here several years, there are now generations who visit and many have become singularly identifiable - different from the “mob” in one way or another. This poem is about that.

A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW ON LOVE

Standing at the kitchen sink
this morning I was so thankful
that ducks have wings

because outside my kitchen window
this morning I saw a duck
step-dragging in place
surrounded by her voracious flock

my heart was breaking
as she pivoted in place on one foot
her second leg limp and useless
her bill grasping for corn
within the circle of her reach
desperate to fill her empty
drab brown belly
before the corn was gone

she was a presence
with one side leaning on the dirt
yet holding her single-footed place
among the frenzy
clearly accustomed to the challenge

and no one bothered her

no cocky flock-mate breached her circle
or pecked or pushed her unsteady soul

and I think I witnessed love
among these wild things
as each ate their fill
and then all took flight ~
together